TranscendenceReview

Transcendence is an ambitious film; both visually and thematically. It seeks to address one of the fundamental issues of our time – the potential cost of explosive technological advances – with a quintessentially human story as the backdrop. Mistakes are made by those fighting both for and against the tide of change in this tale. Some are motivated by fear, others by love, but all are blinded by their own desires, rigid perspectives, and limited vision - in short, by human frailty.

First time director and Academy Award-winning cinematographer Wally Pfister (Inception, The Dark Knight Trilogy) uses Jack Paglen's 2012 Blacklist-featured script as his foundation. The story follows Johnny Depp as Dr. Will Caster, an artificial intelligence researcher who calls what many refer to as the Singularity (the moment when a machine becomes self-aware) Transcendence. Caster’s wife Evelyn (Rebecca Hall) is a vocal advocate for the good that sentient machines can do in the world; while their close colleague and dear friend Max Waters (Paul Bettany) has strong reservations about unrestrained technology and the wisdom of endowing a computer with its own consciousness, specifically.

When anti-tech extremists shoot Will in a coordinated attack against “Transcendence”, Evelyn and Max upload his mind into a pre-existing A.I. system in an attempt to preserve a version of his life. Things move fairly quickly after that in what becomes a paradoxically kinetic and plodding tale; the focus of which is Will’s evolution into a near omnipotent digital deity whose goal is to “heal” the world. The price for Will's powers of rejuvenation is individual autonomy. In other words, the entirety of nature, including the men and women who inhabit it, must come under Will’s control in order to benefit from his beneficence.

Transcendence asks interesting questions; questions that are to some degree answerless. That can make for a nuanced story that sparks discussion. However, this film evokes more of a disjointed than purposefully elliptical feel. It’s structured like a classical Hollywood offering, so the viewer is primed to expect a definitive stance. As such, the mixed messages that Transcendence presents often read as flaws rather than purposefully evocative open-ended conversation starters.

There is no real clarity to the passage of time, which leads to a fragmented sense of reality. Things that should take years appear to happen in a matter of weeks. Decisions with global implications are made rashly, without a long-term plan, and seemingly absent the consent of the world's governing bodies. It’s as if, in order to prevent a potential flood, the powers-that-be somehow managed to create a global, catastrophic drought. Transcendence is full of intriguing ideas, but it’s equally replete with logical errors.

The government at large is represented by a lone FBI agent (Cillian Murphy) who seems entirely un-beholden to a chain of command. There are moments in the film when it is unclear who, if anyone, is actually in charge. The audiences' ability to suspend disbelief is shattered again and again, both by the nonsensical behavior of the humans and the inflated, near limitless abilities of the machine. Will essentially becomes a nano-tech faith healer by the third act. On the whole, a coherent execution is sacrificed for the sake of fulfilling a premise. Having said that, Transcendence remains, in many ways, an entertaining science fiction yarn.

Though the imagery doesn't have the innovative grandeur some may expect from Pfister, the look of the film is still impressive and often lovely. Depp and Hall turn in strong performances and there is an effective love story at the core. Though he is essentially a God-like machine for the bulk of the film, Depp is actually more human here than we've seen over the last several years. Though, some of the all-powerful computer dialogue gets a bit hoakie in moments. Depp's character has a line that in many ways captures the essence of the film, which is "short on logic, but not on irony."

As to the larger meanings and ultimate “message” of the piece, by the time credits role, Transcendence turns in on itself. What at first appears to be a cautionary tale about technology becomes a condemnation of our inclination to prize individual liberty above the well-being of the collective. The film seems to split the difference between the fearful perception of A.I. and the hopeful one. In some ways, this is a muddled affair, in others an interesting reflection of a world that as Carl Sagan said is driven by, but does not understand, technology. The film’s final word on the matter isn’t one we hear very often in our culture, and in that way, it’s valuable. Unfortunately, as a whole, the story just doesn't work.

The Verdict

If you are a fan of the genre, the concepts explored in Transcendence are evocative, even if the ideas are imperfectly expressed. Ultimately, the film is a missed opportunity, though; long on ideas and short on execution.

Roth Cornet is an Entertainment Editor for IGN. You can chat with her on Twitter: @RothCornet, or follow Roth-IGN on IGN.